The disclosure relates to semiconductor memory devices and, more particularly, to semiconductor memory devices including magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs).
There is a demand for high density, lower power consumption, and nonvolatile memory devices with the development of portable computing devices and wireless communication devices. Magnetic memory devices have become one of the main candidates to satisfy such demands.
In particular, a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) exhibits a tunnel magneto resistance (TMR) effect, which is useful as a data storing mechanism for magnetic memory devices. A recently reported TMR ratio of several hundred for an MTJ has spurred intensive development of magnetic memory devices including such MTJs.